Founded in 1830, Spring Hill College has provided a powerful liberal arts education in the Jesuit tradition for almost two centuries. The SHC Italy Center is located Bologna, Italy and offers a selection of twenty courses throughout the academic year.

The human rights focus of the SHC Italy Center is anchored in academic based social justice travel. The program integrates traditional classroom learning (in English) with travels that expand one’s global perspective. Courses are taught by adjunct Italian professors (Univ. of Bologna, Bocconi University) who have either taught or completed doctoral research in the United States and are familiar with American forms of pedagogy.

LOCATION

Bologna is located in northern Italy in the Po River Valley, between Florence and Venice. This beautiful medieval city is known for its cuisine, porticos, and terra-cotta-colored buildings. Bologna began life as an Etruscan town (pre-Roman times), and many of the buildings and museums that dominate the town’s historic center are legacies of this heritage.

Today Bologna is noticeably a student town, lively and entertaining, and is viewed as one of the most forward-thinking cities in Europe. In fact, one in four people walking the streets of Bologna are college students. Fewer than 500 of these students are Americans, which makes Bologna a true cultural immersion for students wanting a genuine Italian encounter.

HOUSING AND MEALS

The residence hall at University College, Collegio Alma Mater, offers services comparable to what students find in the most modern American campus residence halls. ll rooms (private, double or triples) have a view of a garden area, yet students live within minutes of the bustling University of Bologna District. Spring Hill College students either share a room with one or two fellow Americans who are also attending the Italy Center or can select the privacy of a single room.

Meals are consumed in the cafeteria, and the meal plan consists of breakfast and dinner six days a week as the Alma Mater cafeteria (Mensa) is closed on Sundays. Students will also be offered the chance to buy a packet of lunch tickets upon arrival in Bologna. Purchasing the lunch tickets will give students the flexibility to use them as they wish throughout the semester when they are around campus and do not want to eat away from campus.

CULTURAL EXCURSIONS

Academic travel trips are led by Spring Hill College Italy faculty members and take students to destinations in Italy and across the broader Mediterranean region. Faculty are asked to design their courses in order to connect the classroom lessons with the travel programs. In keeping with the Spring Hill College goal of helping our students to become global thinkers, learners and collaborators, the Italy Center curriculum strives to offer a campus without walls.

Spring Tours:
Swiss Alps: Ski and Snowshoe Orientation Program (included in program fees)
Puglia: Immigration and Anti-mafia campaigns
Sicily: Identity and Immigration
Istanbul: Social Justice Tour (included in program fees)

INTERNSHIP

The Spring Hill Italy Center Humanities Internship provides students with a unique opportunity to think more deeply about complex issues facing Italy, the broader Mediterranean area, and the world.

Recent examples of placements include:

Cestas: Fights against underdevelopment in the name of solidarity and human rights by operating relief projects in 27 countries.

Piazza Grande: works alongside the homeless community in Bologna for individual reintegration and self-determination within a more humane society.

BiodiverCity: encourages environmental awareness in the community through involvement in various projects, such as setting up urban gardens and working with children in agricultural community projects.

Please note, planning ahead is critical in order to acquire an internship. Students are asked to apply at least two months prior to the start of the academic semester. All interested applicant are to send a brief email indicating your interest in a possible internship. Correspondence is to be sent to Italy@SHC.edu

VOLUNTEER

SHC's Italy Center offers numerous placement sites around the city. Due to the fact that Bologna is such a diverse city full of opportunities, there are many partnerships with local immigrant communities, political groups, non-for-profit organizations, NGO’s, and everything in between. Students who have scholarships that require service hours to retain will be able to do so while in Italy.